‘Hopefully, One Day, I’ll Be On The Big Screen’

‘I
don’t
know
when,
but
I
definitely
want
to
see
myself
there
—
maybe
doing
some
action
sequences.’

Behind

Sanvikaa‘s
effortless
smile
lies
a
journey
marked
by
grit,
quiet
rebellion
and
an
unshakable
spirit.

In
the
second
part
of
her
candid
conversation
with

Prasanna
D
Zore/Rediff,
the

Panchayat
actor
takes
us
back
to
her
uncertain
early
days
in
Mumbai,
when
six
girls
shared
a
one-bedroom
apartment
and
had
to
sleep
on
the
floor,
and
how
she
survived
the
city’s
crushing
costs.

Unburdened
by
overthinking,
Sanvikaa
says
she
plunged
into
acting
auditions
without
the
fear
of
rejection,
a
naivete
she
now
considers
her
biggest
blessing.

Now,
with
a
growing
fan
base
and
ambitious
dreams
of
leading
women-centric
films,
she
stands
as
proof
that
small-town
girls
with
big-city
courage
can
turn
quiet
gambles
into
life-changing
victories.

“I’m
always
cautious
because
anything
can
happen,
so
I
didn’t
allow
myself
to
get
too
excited.”

Was
the
move
to
Mumbai
easy?

I
tried
very
hard
to
move
to
Bombay
but
nothing
was
working
out.

Looking
back,
I
think
it
was
just
a
matter
of
timing.

My
parents
were
actually
ready
to
send
me
to
Bombay
then,
though
not
for
acting
—
it
was
for
a
design
course.

But
somehow,
things
kept
falling
through.

We
tried
multiple
times
to
catch
a
train
from
the
station,
but
every
train
to
Bombay
ended
up
getting
cancelled!

We
thought
of
taking
a
bus
instead
but
then
my
sister
called
and
asked,
‘Why
do
you
want
to
do
this?
You
already
have
a
good
career
in
engineering,
stick
with
that.’

I
got
very
angry
after
that
conversation.

I
just
wanted
to
get
out,
so
I
made
an
excuse
to
my
parents,
telling
them
that
I
was
thinking
of
taking
up
a
job
in
Bangalore.
They
agreed.
So
I
went
to
Bangalore,
fully
aware
that
I
wasn’t
going
there
to
work.

You
actually
went
to
Bengaluru
in
search
of
a
job?

It
wasn’t
about
finding
a
job,
that
was
just
an
excuse.

I
stayed
in
Bangalore
for
three
or
four
months.
After
that,
without
telling
my
parents,
I
moved
to
Bombay.

My
parents,
especially
my
mother,
tends
to
overthink
a
lot.

I
didn’t
want
to
trouble
her
unnecessarily,
so
I
managed
everything
on
my
own.

Two
months
later,
I
told
her
I
was
in
Bombay.

I
asked
her
not
to
tell
Papa
because
I
thought
he
wouldn’t
agree
with
my
decision.
But
to
my
surprise,
he
was
very
supportive.

Though
he
would
still
send
me
news
about
job
vacancies,
reminding
me
this
line
(a
career
in
the
Hindi
film
industry
as
an
actor)
is
uncertain
and
suggesting
I
keep
my
options
open,
both
of
them
supported
me
in
every
way
they
could.

Did
it
never
cross
your
mind
that
what
if
it
does
not
work
out
in
the
film
industry?
Did
you
have
a
plan
B?

I
didn’t
think
too
much.

I
just
made
the
decision
(to
move
to
Mumbai).

If
I
had
stopped
to
consider
everything,
I
probably
wouldn’t
have
done
it
at
all.

Honestly,
I’m
glad
I
didn’t
know
much
about
the
industry
back
then.
I
didn’t
realise
how
long
it
takes
to
meet
the
right
people,
give
countless
auditions,
and
wait
for
things
to
actually
work
out.

It
all
felt
like
an
adventure,
and
I
enjoyed
the
whole
process.

Your
real
name
is
Pooja
Singh.
Why
did
you
switch
to
Sanvikaa?
Watch
the
video
to
hear
the
answer.

How
financially
tough
is
it
to
survive
in
the
early
years
of
acting?
How
much
rent
were
you
paying?

When
I
first
moved
to
Bombay
in
2016,
I
was
paying
Rs
6,000
as
my
share
of
the
rent.

We
were
six
girls
sharing
a
one
BHK
apartment
with
absolutely
no
furniture.
We
had
our
own

chadars,
and
would
sleep
side
by
side
with
our
bags
kept
neatly
next
to
us.

We
lived
like
that
for
a
long
time,
managing
the
bills
the
same
way
—
everything
was
divided.

Bombay
is
an
expensive
city,
but
it’s
also
a
place
that
fills
you
with
hope.
The
key
is
to
meet
the
right
people
and
steer
clear
of
negativity.

I’ve
always
kept
my
circle
very
positive
and
supportive.
That’s
why
my
flat-mates
from
back
then
are
still
some
of
my
closest
friends.
We
still
hang
out
together.

How
did

Panchayat
happen?
How
did
you
progress
from
a
small
role
to
a
full-fledged
character?

It
happened
quite
by
chance.

I
gave
the
audition,
but
it
was
really
a
stroke
of
luck
that
I
even
met
the
casting
person
—
he
just
happened
to
see
me
and
asked
me
to
audition.

I
went
in
without
any
baggage
or
expectation
of
being
selected
because
honestly,
I
had
already
self-rejected
in
my
mind.

You
self-rejected
yourself…

Yeah,
the
moment
he
said
it
was
for
TVF
(the
production
house
The
Viral
Fever)
and
that
I’d
be
acting
opposite
him
(Jitendra
Kumar),
I
was
like,
‘Oh
my
God!’

I’ve
been
following
TVF
since
my
college
days
and
absolutely
love
their
content.

So
I
had
no
baggage
at
all
because
I
had
already
self-rejected
myself
in
my
head.
My
audition
went
well,
but
I
didn’t
expect
a
callback.

A
few
days
later,
when
I
got
the
confirmation
call,
I
was
shocked.
Still,
I
didn’t
celebrate,
because
I
thought,
‘It’s
just
production
calling.
I
only
have
a
one-week
contract.’

For
me,
it
was
50-50.
It
could
either
turn
into
a
big
role,
or
there
was
a
chance
I
might
not
be
in
the
show
at
all,
since
my
part
came
right
at
the
end
and
could
easily
have
been
edited
out.

I’m
always
cautious
because
anything
can
happen,
so
I
didn’t
allow
myself
to
get
too
excited.

But
since
the
character
was
introduced
with
a
hook
at
the
end,
there
was
also
a
possibility
it
could
grow
in
the
later
seasons.

Honestly,
I
didn’t
think
too
much
about
it
then.
My
only
thought
was,
‘I’ll
earn
some
money
and
pay
my
rent.
That’s
it.
My
one
month’s
rent
is
sorted.’

What
are
you
working
on
now?

I’m
the
kind
of
person
who
doesn’t
like
to
reveal
too
much.
I
believe
that
until
your
project
is
out,
it’s
better
not
to
talk
about
it.

I’m
always
a
little
afraid
of
the
editing
table
—
you
never
know
if
your
part
will
even
make
it.

I’ve
seen
friends
who’ve
worked
for
40,
50
days
on
something,
completely
excited
that
it
would
change
their
lives,
only
to
find
out
later
that
it
didn’t
even
make
the
final
cut.

Even
my
mother
advises
me
not
to
share
too
much
about
what
I’m
doing
or
what
I’m
planning
next.
When
the
time
is
right,
that’s
when
I’ll
speak
about
it.

Right
now,
I’m
working
on
two
projects,
maybe
more.
But
I’ll
definitely
talk
about
them
when
the
moment
is
right.

If
you
could
design
the
dream
role
in
any
genre,
what
would
it
look
like?

I
want
to
do
women-centric
films.

Hopefully,
one
day,
I’ll
be
on
the
big
screen.
I
don’t
know
when,
but
I
definitely
want
to
see
myself
there
—
maybe
doing
some
action
sequences.

A
life-changing
moment
for
me
was
when
I
watched

NH
10,
Anushka
Sharma’s
film.
I
thought
it
was
brilliant,
and
it
left
a
deep
impact
on
me.

At
the
time,
I
was
in
college
and
doing
theatre,
so
I
watched
it
with
a
different
perspective,
not
just
as
an
audience
member,
but
as
someone
observing
the
acting,
the
story,
the
graph
of
the
character.

The
way
Anushka
Sharma
performed,
the
strength
of
the
character,
that’s
the
kind
of
zone
I’d
love
to
explore.